Logan Albright of FreedomWorks writes about an effort in Arizona to push back against the massive data collection and sharing of students’ personally identifiable information:

Rep. Mark Finchem is working on a project called “It’s My PII,” which is seeking an injunction against the federal government’s ability to collect PII without parental consent, and challenging executive action from the Department of Education under President Barack Obama.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is supposed to protect student-data privacy and parental rights, but in 2012, the Department of Education issued regulations greatly loosening those protections.

While the executive branch has the authority to direct the actions of Cabinet agencies, it cannot unilaterally alter existing laws without Congress writing new legislation. In spite of this, educational authorities are using the president’s order as a justification for collecting data in violation of FERPA as written.

“It’s My PII” contends that this is illegal, and is collecting resources to launch litigation against the government, as well as preparing legislation to stop the further collection and distribution of PII in the state.

EPIC.org had challenged the government on the 2011 FERPA changes and regulations, but a court had dismissed their suit for lack of standing without ever reaching the substantive issues. This blogger agreed – and continues to agree – with EPIC’s position and hopes to see another challenge launched.

If you have a young child, protect their privacy and their future. Get involved in efforts to rein in the government’s collection of data on our children. This is waaay beyond just opting out of Common Core and opting out of directory information sharing. What information will be in government databases or shared with others by the time your child is 18? Will it come back to bite them in their future?